Baupost Group LLC MA Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Baupost Group LLC MA acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 105,764 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,805,000. VeriSign comprises approximately 0.5% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 117.2% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 55.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 327 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $181.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 0.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $220.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.41.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The information services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.08. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $387.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 3,684 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,774 shares in the company, valued at $7,177,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.